When India talks about LiFE, the world listens. At the Raisina Dialogue 2023, in a panel ‘Heart of the Matter: LiFE for our Common Future’, the G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant minced no words when he spoke of how India has taken a lead in its commitment to industrialisation without carbonising. Riding on the power of renewables and LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), Kant spoke about how the world needs to move forward by nudging people towards behaviour change that can lead to sustainable living.
The session moderated by Kate Hampton, CEO, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, UK, looked at what are the nudges needed to mainstream more sustainable consumption. On the role that tech giant Apple plays in this movement, Lisa Jackson, Vice President, Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, pointed out how Apple is leading by example. “We have been using 100% clean energy since 2018 and became carbon neutral in 2020. We now want our global supply chain to be carbon neutral. By 2030, every product Apple sells or uses needs to have neutral impact on climate,” she added.
To a point on how Bhutan is one of the few carbon negative countries in the world, Tandi Dorji, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, mentioned about non-economic indicators riding on Gross Happiness as the key to meeting sustainable goals. “Under our goals, 60% of the country had to be under forests but today 72% of Bhutan is covered by forests,” he said. He further applauded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his vision for Mission LiFE that can lead to not just tackling the climate change issue but also in meeting the sustainable development goals.
According to International Energy Agency, the worldwide adoption of Mission LiFE measures would lead to an annual reduction of more than 2 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2030, nearly one-fifth of the reductions necessary to reach a net zero pathway. Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maldives highlighted his country’s vulnerable status to climate change. “G20 is ready under India’s presidency to listen to climate vulnerable countries. Maldives is at the forefront of climate change and we have been shouting since 1989 about it,” he said.
Talking about how corporates are ensuring circular economy through sustainable practices, Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri, India, said that the company is following best practices in recycling plastics, ensuring more water is harvested than extracted and engaging with the community to convert barren land to fertile land.
The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics and is hosted by the think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of External Affairs. The session also saw the release of the report ‘Climate, Community, Cooperation: An Indian Approach to Adaptation in the Global South’, by ORF and global consultancy firm PwC. This study intends to assess India’s present approaches to disaster and climate risk management, adaptation and resilience building, to record best practices and analyse how these approaches can be scaled up globally as well as domestically by driving more investments.
